Queen’s salmon supplier to help de-ice city roads

The Queen’s smoked salmon supplier has donated more than 150 tonnes of salt to de-ice Aberdeen’s roads this winter.

The city council is offering community groups one tonne bags and 20 kilogram tubs to treat icy streets and pavements in their neighbourhood.

John Ross Jr Ltd, based in the city’s Sinclair Road, initially used the salt in the production of its traditional smoked salmon products.

Councillor Ross Grant, the council’s transport spokesman, said: “We have a workforce of 90 to cover 24/7 operations and they do their best under winter conditions, often going above and beyond their duty.

“Of course we want to keep roads open and residents safe but unfortunately our staff can’t be everywhere around the city at all times – there are 560 miles of roads in Aberdeen, slightly more than the distance from the city to London, and there are 1,242 miles of pavements.”

Christopher Leigh, chief executive officer of John Ross Jr, added: “As a global exporter of smoked salmon, we use a considerable amount of salt, all of which is filtered and can be captured during the preparation process.

“Simply discarding it seemed incredibly wasteful.

“We felt that it could be reused in a much more effective way by those who live in and around the area.”

Community groups interesting in using the salt can email winter@aberdeencity.gov.uk for more information or call 03000 200 292.